Question 1 Model Answer: Letter

In Question 1, you might be asked to write a letter. This will be based on opinions, ideas, and information from one or two reading passages. You’ll need to adapt your writing to suit the purpose, audience, and form of the task. Here’s a guide to help you write a top-grade speech.

 

Key Details About the Task

You may need to write in one of these three formats:

• A letter
• A speech
• An article

For a letter, your aim is to present your ideas in a way that engages and persuades your audience, drawing on the material provided in the reading texts.

 

How to Address the Reading Objectives

 

In this task, 15 marks are available for your ability to:

1. Evaluate explicit (obvious) and implicit (hidden) ideas, opinions, and attitudes in the reading texts.
2. Combine these ideas into a developed, sophisticated response.

 

 

Let’s break it down using an example question:

 

 

 

Your response should be based on the ideas, opinions, and attitudes in the two texts provided:

 

 

 

When answering Question 1 on the reading passages, it’s important to focus on the ideas, opinions, and attitudes in the texts provided. This will form the basis of your writing. Let’s break it down step by step.

 

Step 1: Read the Texts Carefully

Before anything else, read the texts provided in the exam carefully. Highlight key points, opinions, and attitudes that stand out, as these will help shape your answer.

 

Key Ideas from the Texts

 

Text A: We need more wilderness in education

• The focus on technology and traditional classroom methods is seen as harmful to children’s wellbeing.
• Classroom-based learning can damage confidence and increase stress, leading to mental health issues.
• Nature offers a solution by fostering confidence, resilience, and social skills.
• Wilderness schooling is cost-effective, with low overheads like building shelters or foraging for food.
• Studies show that outdoor education improves social and emotional development, reduces hyperactivity, and enhances co-operation.
• Inspired by educational pioneers like Kurt Hahn, wilderness schooling promotes teamwork, communication, and character-building.
• Scandinavia’s approach to teaching by topics rather than traditional subjects is highlighted as a model of outdoor education.
• The writer believes in balancing traditional and wilderness education to ensure all children can access life-enhancing opportunities.

 

Text B: Outdoor learning – a good idea or another educational fad?

• Many parents believe outdoor education is important, but they often leave it to schools to provide these experiences.
• Outdoor learning includes activities like log-jumping and team-building exercises, with claims of benefits for self-esteem and teamwork.
• Some evidence suggests even a classroom with greenery views improves wellbeing, but questions arise about large-scale outdoor education.
• Concerns include:
• Bookish children, or those with allergies or disabilities, may struggle.
• Reallocating resources from books and technology to outdoor spaces could create imbalances.
• Outdoor education could face logistical challenges like risk assessments and teacher retraining.
• Continuity of ethos is difficult when transitioning between schools.
• Critics argue that instead of radical outdoor learning, small changes, like adding more plants to classrooms, might suffice.

 

Planning Your Response

 

Once you’ve extracted relevant points, spend a few minutes planning how to structure your response. Here’s a guide:

1. Decide on Your Viewpoint:
• Based on the extracts, determine your stance. Are you fully supporting outdoor education, balancing it with traditional methods, or highlighting its limitations?

 

2. Summarise Your Position:
• Write a statement summarising your perspective, based on the ideas presented.

 

3. Develop Points from the Texts:
• Choose key arguments from the texts that support your viewpoint for your opening paragraphs.
• Consider including a counterargument, drawing on the concerns and challenges raised.

 

4. Address Both Bullet Points:
• Use ideas from both extracts to evaluate opinions on outdoor learning.
• Persuade your audience that your viewpoint is the right approach.

 

5. Plan Your Introduction and Conclusion:
• Start by engaging your audience and outlining your argument.
• Conclude with a strong statement reinforcing your perspective.

 

 

Model Answer: Letter

 

 

Summary

• Read the Question Carefully:
  • Highlight key details, including what you are writing, who your audience is, and the purpose of your response.
• Focus on the Bullet Points:
  • Identify the focus of each bullet point in the task.
• Analyse the Text(s):
  • Highlight the relevant information that you can use to develop your response.
• Summarise in Your Own Words:
  • Turn the key ideas from the text(s) into bullet points using your own words.
• Plan Your Response:
  • Structure your writing so that each paragraph focuses on one main idea or opinion.
• Address Each Bullet Point in Order:
  • Ensure that you cover all the bullet points equally, giving balanced attention to each.
• Establish Voice and Style:
  • Decide on the appropriate tone and voice for your audience and maintain this consistently throughout your response.